Insignificant Innocence
by colitas
Summary: IDW influenced-AU. Ray is a nobody, a youngling and Shockwave's personal assistant. With the Combaticons hitching a ride on her home and Shockwave's research spaceship, she gets to learns the glorious and mighty ways of the Decepticons. ...Right? As they approach their destination, she finds out that it has some dark history with Cybertronians.
1. Informal Introductions

**Introduction: Posted this last year but taken down for hesitation. Posted again for having watched Transformers 4 and felt like doing some justice. This is a rather BIG project, though.**

**Inspired mainly by the IDW G1 series, this is a completely AU setting that I've made up. It's better if you follow the original inspiration so you can catch the references. I like characters a lot so expect randoness! It's going to be mostly my OCs but I will switch POVs quite often.**

**I love feedback, positive or negative! So don't hesitate and I hope you enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the narrator of this story, the OC. I do want to own Transformers but no.**

* * *

Why, hello! It's nice to see someone other than us Decepticons at base.

You know what, let me give you a tour around! Hehe, we must be careful. The grown-bots are all grumpy and ugly when they see anyone else. We'll be sneaky so sssshhhhh-!

Oh, do you know what ship we are on? It's called something funny, I'll tell you later the name 'cause I kinda forgot. But this is a proud spacecraft with me on it!

..Well, actually the most important Cybertronian is Shockwave. He's the big purple mech with only one optic and he's the smartest Cybertronian ever! ...Except this Autobot called Perceptor. I mean, that guy is also a genius. It's actually ridiculous how smart they both are, pffff. Shocky told me that this was his personal vessel which he was assigned to do his research for Megs.

..You do know who Megs is? Wait, do you even _know_ who Decepticons and Autobots are?

Well, it all started when our home planet Cybertron was being stupid. The government forced things that bots didn't like. And they're supposed to be nice. So Megatron, or as I call him Megs...Don't judge him like that! He's the most powerful mech to have ever lived! He's still online so don't worry, you can see him in real life.

Moving on, Mr. Powerful stood up to free everyone from the ridiculous system! He had so many supporters! He was awesome, telling bots that he would bring in a world where inequality didn't exist or something like that.

..What? Don't look at me like that! It isn't my fault that Shockwave shoves the data pads in front of me to study with Swindle!

Let's continue...So basically Megatron stood up against the whole planet! Only _technically_, because he was the sole leader but it counts. He named his fraction 'Decepticons', to end all the deception the council of old bots would make and break free of them.

Awesome, right?

But then the rusty bots got angry because they lost power over the workers, the bots who followed Megs. The council called them lots of mean things that I'm not really supposed to say and when the Decepticons threw them a comeback by getting Kaon, the first Decepticon city, they panicked.

Pfff, it's ridiculous. They got so scared that they made a random bot Prime! Can you believe it? PRIME! I mean, I wouldn't give anyone the title of the _Leader of Cybertron?_ I'm not THAT stupid.

The new Prime is called Optimus Prime, ok? Let's call him Opssy because I call Lord Megatron 'Megs'. Opssy gathered the remaining bots and made another fraction to call themselves Autobots. Yes, that is the truth of the dumb Autobots...Opssy _copied_ Megs! What a meanie, right? That's one reason I don't like him. It's not right, no, no, no.

Ever since then, we've been fighting to get back our freedom and now we're going beyond Cybertron to make sure the Autobots don't get them! You got that all of that, fella? _Ssshh-!_

...OK, that's Vortex. He's one of the grumpiest ones! He's always pouting, what is he? A sparkling? Oh yeah, forgot about our ship. Captain Shockwave's going around for research of energon. It's because Cybertron got tired so it doesn't produce energon like before. I wasn't born by then so I'm ok but I _do_ want our planet to be like that again. I never get enough energon, hmm!

The Combaticons are onboard because Shocky's giving them a ride to where we are going now. Apparently some planet with some Decepticons need reinforcement. Onslaught called them pathetic for even requesting such thing but I call that exaggeration. They must have been bored to death if they wanted the _Combaticons_. Oh yeah, Brawl told me there's a guy called Thunderwing there obsessed with organics. He told me to stay away from him in case we have to land on it.

Awww, that's sweet of you! But don't worry! I'm going to stick with Shocky. I mean, how will he survive without his assistant?

Ah, let's meet the crew, shall we?

That bot grumbling about his energon is Vortex, like I said he's grumpy and rarely smiles. He's the one that teaches me about anatomy. One solar cycle, he told me that cutting one's head off wouldn't offline a Cybertronian! And after you do that and shut the self-repair systems off, the bot would feel the pain over and over again like Shockwave's scolding. How horrible, right?

Oh! There's Onslaught!

He's the leader of Combaticons and he teaches me battle strategies. Look, he's going over data pads about things like that. Last lesson was how to act when being caught as prisoner. Autobots take prisoners as much as possible he says. He also told me that they would definitely make me feel like a guest, so I should take advantage of that. I'll at least make sure I eat all of their energon sweets!

...I guess I'll have to go to the battlefield one day since they are teaching me all of these things.

Oh! Blast Off's my third favorite! The reddish bot over there, checking the control panel drones, see? He turns into a space shuttle! Isn't that awesome? I learn star maps with him in case I get lost and stuff. That's not all, I'm soon going to learn how to pilot. He says that if I get to be skilled enough, I could help him drive this ship around! Onslaught says that he's gonna make me do all the work so he can slack off. ..But that would mean that Blast has complete confidence in me!

Brawl, the bot there talking to the other one, knows a lot of vehicles so he makes me learn which ones are vulnerable and strong against what. Like tanks have more firepower but are definitely slower. So I have to take notes on his loooong lectures. He tends to track off to stories of when he blew things up but I never complain about that. They're actually cool!

The other one's Swindle, the nicest bot of them and he gives me energon sweets if I get his quizzes right! And to tell the truth, they aren't _that_ hard. Either that he's the best teacher ever or my processor is best compatible with long texts of history data. Too bad he's mostly busy working. Swindle has visitors a lot so he can continue his business of whatever he does.

..What?

I do have all the necessary data installed and stored in my processor but that doesn't mean I understand all of them. That's the _whole_ point of the Combaticons telling me things.

It was really random how they got to travel with us and that's a lot from me.

Before they got into the ship with us, we were just docking at Cybertron for a rest. We went to Tarn because it's Shockwave's favorite. Shock went to talk with Megs since we used most of the energon in our trip. I was shoved to Barricade who grumbled at me – like always. But hey! We actually started a conversation that lasted a breem this time!

_Weeellll_ it was over when Rossum smacked him for saying bad words in front of me. Too bad because I only got the one he always says. Then Shock commed me to get ready for takeoff. So I waited for him in front of the ship when he appeared with five bots! Imagine how surprised I was. They were in a bad mood and there aren't many things that can be as dangerous as moody Decepticons, trust me.

That's why I hid in the deck.

Onslaught was listing off his rules when Shockwave just cut him off saying that the ship was his and he had a higher status than him, that the Combaticons had to listen to his commands. I would have snickered if Blast Off hadn't picked me up from my hiding spot. He has the better sensors but I could have still gone away with it if he wasn't bored. He was going to throw me outside when Shockwave told him to put me down.

Oh, you should have seen their faces when Shocky later told them to teach me. Here, I took an image from my memory banks.

Hahaha! Isn't it hilarious?! So here we ar-

"Who are you talking to, kid?"

The familiar smooth voice with the opening of the door tole me another bot being just outside. I remembered the only bad word Barricade managed to slip when he was in charge of me.

Slag.

* * *

"Who are you talking to, kid?"

Swindle's purple optics smiled when they caught sight of a small figure, frozen and rigid at his voice. The femmeling could make the amusing reactions when she was caught off-guard.

"Nothing."

Another fun factor was that she was the best lying child he had ever met.

Maybe it was her calmness that she managed to summon even at the most deadliest moments (like talking back to Vortex with his 'tools' out) or her control over her emotions. It was very clear that Shockwave was her caretaker. Thought it was still impossible to picture him with a youngling. Swindle shook his head to remind himself what he had been smirking at.

"Oh, _really?_ And what did I hear about those comments about me and the others?"

The youngling turned around in rounded optics of the gentlest red you could find in a Decepticon. Her light purple frames were still covering whatever she was hiding with hidden desperation.

"Nothing!" Her squeakier voice betrayed her intentions as she slapped her mouth plate. Her round, plain helm shook, hinting a serious (for a youngling) battle of choices going on her processor.

Swindle raised a brow with a slight grin as he watched her failure of deception. He crouched, elbows glued to knees, legs still supporting the separation of his frame from the metal floors of the rec room. He stared intently into the innocent optics, enjoying the panic attack he was mentally giving to the immature being. "Kid, you don't lie to full grown mechs."

"Grr…" The low pitched, unthreatening growl was all the capitalist needed. The youngling of the lily mundane plating shrieked as her secret got out.

"Ray…" He slowly began with optics darting with confusion. "You were talking to a turbofox?"

"Did someone say **_TURBOFOX?!_**"

Brawl's voice boomed from afar as signs of his crashing footsteps got nearer. His enthusiastic amber optic visor glowed when his enormous figure reached the door. His right servo immediately shifted, revealing a long rifle. A Path Blaster.

"Good, I was getting bored." His _quiet _tone was what made Radio the youngling bolt out of the room with a yelping creature of metal.

"Ray, get back here with that _doomed_ scrap metal!" The loud and annoyed con followed her lastly seen direction, announcing the start of his hunt. Swindle felt forgotten but he shrugged the disappointment off as he commed the caretaker.

[Shockwave,] he smirked at the thought of Brawl having to look through the entire ship of for one little turbofox, [the kid found a new pet.]

[…If it manages to survive your fellow bot from what I have heard,] Shockwave's ever flat voice replied unamused, [I'll consider its usefulness.] The business bot sighed at the boring reply.

He still had _absolutely **no**_ idea of how the mad scientist ended up with the kid.

* * *

**Author's Notes: And that's the introduction. So we have a ship heading somewhere with Shockwave and the Combaticons and a youngling. What could possibly go wrong? **

**-So my OC is Ray, femmeling of the most basic frame ever. No abilities, no weapons, nada. Color is lily but the others will call it pink all the time. _She's no canon character's daughter, this I promise._**

**-Barricade get all the crappy work. He isn't an important Decepticon, poor him. **

**-Rossum is the Decepticon scientist from the latest issue of More Than Meets The Eye. I also read Robots in Disguise so you should read that too!**


	2. Standard Domestic Adoption Procedure

**Disclaimer:** **Only Ray, Decepticons are not mine.**

_Time units:_

vorn - 83 years  
orn - 1 week  
joor - 6 hours  
cycle - 1 minute  
mega cycle - 1 hour  
solar cycle - 1 day  
orbital cycle - 1 month  
stellar cycle - 1 year  
breem - 8.3 minutes  
klik - 1 second

[comm. link]

_thoughts_

* * *

_This is bad. Primus help me. No, no, **no!**_

My processor screamed at me to run away, as fast as I possibly could. My feeble arms tightened around the creature I was carrying, its small tail poking my side plates. The dull colors of the hallway were blurring around me but only one thing kept my weak legs going.

"_Raaaayyyyyy-!_" Brawl's loud, like always, voice echoed throughout the ship. Thanks to equipment elevators in between floors, I got away to another one. I was always glad to have a...precocious mind. So using it, I decided to first hide into a vent. I skidded into a halt as I ducked into a random room.

...Tool storage, perfect!

I changed my hand into a driver, placing the troublesome fella besides me. I examined around for a vent hole that was bound to be somewhere I could reach. The little canine trailed after me like a confused drone waiting for orders. I smiled as I kneeled for a jackpot - and it was only small as me. I set down to work, my driver rotating furiously as I pushed it against the nails of the vent hole frame. The turbofox sat patiently next to me, watching me.

...I take that back. Its amber optics glowed curiously as it licked my arm, obviously asking me to attention.

"Stop it, little guy!" I giggled as I worked, hurrying at the sound of the Combaticon approaching detected through my full blasting audio receptors. He had to be quite far but in the right direction.

It made a sad moan, wimping as signs for affection. I waved it off. "_Ha!_ I'm the one who does that on this ship so I'm immune to cute little noises!" I whispered maliciously as my optics focused on my drill driver. Luckily, I was used to doing this when setting Shockwave's clamps down with lug nuts.

Yeah, his stuff are THAT big and Shocky does want perfectly stable stuff. He always checks it afterwards, hmm he doesn't trust me.

Job done, escapade resumed, I entered the vent. Once inside, I put back the loose frame back to its original position. Then I began to crawl like crazy, leaving a ranting Brawl behind me.

* * *

Brawl was getting tired.

It had been a little over an orn since he did something he liked - throwing a grenade into one's spark chamber, crushing a processor, blasting a mech with his proud firepower, tearing off limbs. Sparring with his fellow gestalt members wasn't enough, he needed a kill. His servos were earning for energon leaked from violence.

To make things worse, nothing had happened aboard Shockwave's creepy ship.

No space pirates, no Autobots, no Galactic Councils - heck! No _neutrals _to shoot at!

The con's scratched and worn armor plates of the rough military green color rumbled.

Neutrals usually were everywhere.

Many had escaped the Great War to evacuate the violence and the genocide that Megatron had promised. _Cowards, weaklings, boring bots_. Brawl huffed as he searched his radar - nothing. He continued his hurried pace.

Neutrals were many. Understandable, really.

They were mostly civilians, families who have been at peace not knowing the true horrors in their comfortable lives. After Megatron declared himself as the savior of Cybertron, thousands left the planet in seek of asylums. And that Optimus Prime encouraged the concept as much as he could afford to spare possible soldiers.

The Combaticon glanced around as he reloaded the ship schematics onto his HUD.

Ah, he loved being a Decepticon and was _slagging_ proud of it. It wasn't that he liked to kill or watch others squirm dying - he just liked to wreck whatever was on his way. Brawl stopped as he stopped his train of thoughts. He stopped his movements and focused in maximizing his audio receptor activities.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Minuscule, but existent sounds were coming from the ceiling. He snorted as he came up with the only conclusion.

* * *

I could tell that my brilliant tactics of deception were working.

Me in the air conducts over his head.

He would obviously activate his energy scanners which would only show one life signal, indicating that it was me, not his would be new toy for his crave for energon. Not that the turbofox's life signal would pop up on his vague range, as it was too weak to be picked more than 10 footsteps away. I tested mine before so I had _accurate_ data. That would complicate his situation for ending up searching the whole ship for the lovely obedient creature waiting away in a tucked away container in some random chamber. It was very most likely for him to come after my sounds of movement.

Besides, Brawl would never back from a challenge like that. Either he knew I was taunting him or that he considered me as a clumsy and stupid sparkling.

Rescuing my new buddy was worth the degrade of my image.

I crawled my way to one of the only research chambers Shocky allowed the Combaticons in.

Since the ship was designed for scientific purposes, my boss had most of the chambers or offices as his labs. Though his main aim was of finding energon or energy sources, he also led the scientific army of Decepticons.**I**, being his assistant, had the privilege to have permission of being at almost all of them while the newest additions to the crew were banned from. The gestalt could only enter three of them and I could walk in and out from at least nineteen.

Considering the size of the ship, that's _a lot_.

I knew Shockwave's schedule for it was one of my duties and went to him who was to be checking his reinforcement of booster and engines for Megatron's secondary elite circle. It has been a while since they had an upgrade, apparently. When I asked him how long it had been, Shocky only told me that it was enough for me to get my frame upgrade. At least 5 orns. _Wow._

At first, he ignored my pleas that I shouted at him while clinging to his leg - it's uncomfortably easy, making me wish for my first upgrade very soon - and walked around his lab with me still attached as if I weren't there. He even tested the upgrades as I told him how bad it would be if Brawl got hold of my canine friend.

The nerve circuits he has!

Damn fully upgraded mechs, they are _so_ tall.

I almost glitched when the antagonist from my aspect of the event appeared at the door because I could tell that he decided to just make me spit the little fella's location, instead of physically catch it. For once, I didn't like how things were going according to my plans. When he approached us along a very annoyed glow of his golden optics, I whimpered as Shocky greeted him.

"Brawl," he said as he waved off one of his many drones back to its main function of categorizing substances, "you were not able to appease your boredom?" Despite not having emotions, Shockwave managed to sound sarcastic. I don't know how he does that.

"No, thanks to puny over here." The greenish Brawl growled at me as I squeezed my boss' leg harder.

Shockwave was surely going to give the turbofox away to him!

That would shut him up about his need for violence for at least an entire orbital cycle if he got those servos onto my new friend. Even patient Onslaught had been requesting daily to Mr. Captain for a side trip to make him and Vortex stop babbling. I shrieked in panic as I used my last resort. Before any mech could say anything, I screamed.

"I'LL BE ABSOLUTELY QUIET FOR THE NEXT ORN!"

My voice rang throughout Shockwave's first public lab, causing its residents to look at me simultaneously. Only the quiet clicking and tapping of the drones continued in the silent for a few minutes. I made my best cute optics at their staring faceplates. The static of the comm. link was heard as voices began from the open channel.

[Okay, I don't know whatever this is about but accept the _fragging_offer.]

Blast Off sounded happy. I told myself that I would especially annoy him by bombarding questions in his class. He should appreciate my enthusiasm and company!

[Agreed.] Onslaught seconded with relief. OK, these guys really need to learn how I was being nice to them. [Shockwave, I know you want some silence around your ship. This is the second time ever since we've come aboard that I've heard her say something like that.]

[Which was what?] Vortex's grumbling joined in. [A _stellar_ cycle ago?!]

[Brawl,] Swindle's chuckle. [as a businessbot, I'm advising you - that's the best offer you could get out of your situation! Give it up!]

Brawl - well - he bawled.

I guess me shutting up is like high-grade. He slapped his face with his servos, muffling his cussing.

How could I tell? Shockwave jammed my audio receptors. He does that every time someone starts cursing and saying bad words. Something about not wanting to hear me reciting the new words I would have learned which would disturb his flow of concentration.

But Brawl wasn't the one to make the decisions here. It was because of _that _that Brawl really got mad. I looked up, to find Shockwave looking down to me. I stared at him back, the tension getting onto my nerve circuits.

_Little fella can't die! _My internal tanks grumbled. Heck, my spark stopped working for a klik!

"Offer accepted." He stated in his mundane voice. I threw my arms up with a squeal of joy and the hunter next to me did the same in frustration. Then I realized something as my caretaker fetched his latest schematics data pad.

"Shockwave." I looked up again with a slight frown, sitting on the floor with optics following his pace. "You _knew _I would do that, right?!" His head turned just a bit to my direction, still unabling me to see his amber optic.

"Oh?" His emotionless tone taunted me as he answered my question. "Already breaking the deal, Rau? Have you grown wary of the turbofox _already?_"

That's it. I pouted.

Yes, that's one of my _latter_ last resorts.

No, it doesn't really work.

Then the sneaky mech resumed his work.

"That's what I assumed."

"...Alright." Oops. I forgot about the bot trying to scrap my new buddy. Optics glowing with panic, I ended up facing him with his nose almost touching mine. His optic band was glowering, making my frames stiff with awkwardness and fear. "This once. One word and your _pet_ is mine."

I realized something at his words.

I had a **pet!**

* * *

Brawl, his towering figure shadowing Ray completely, glared down with his greatest intimidation of Megatron he could at the sparkling that...was...smiling. With a growl, he tried again to threaten her by taking another forced step and pinching his faceplate even closer.

She beamed.

Confused and disturbed by the sudden joyful expression on her face, the Combaticon backed off. In his data pad, happy was positive. Positive was well, _good_. But she practically glowing and one didn't need a bond with Ray to know that how gleeful she was being. Decepticons like him didn't like that much of happiness around them.

He decided to retry his tactics.

"I'll dig out its green optics."

Ray's brows rose. Not good enough. She still had a smile plastered onto her mouth.

"And rip its armor plating off, one part after another."

Her optics dimmed. Her cracked smile was still present.

"And shoot its tail off."

What.

Her smile stretched bigger.

"And feed it toxin down its throat."

She giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny servos.

"And file its audio receptors off."

The sparkling cooed something Brawl panicked at.

Why was she getting happier with his sincere threats?

_..Though I'm going to do **much **worse than that_. He decided determinedly.

"What is it with you?!" He yelled at the minuscule figure, which was still beaming. She even let out a huff with a dreamy stare.

* * *

The more I thought about it, the less I became to regret about my offer of not speaking.

I had a pet! A turbofox! Best companion one could get in a boring research ship with moody mechs!

Brawl scowling at my face _literally_ didn't bother me. He was saying things that I didn't really register for being so distracted about the little fella I got to keep alive. I wasn't really aware that I had the brightest smile I did in ages, but I was able to faintly tell judging from the con enraged.

"...green optics."

Oh yes! The cutest pair of optics I've _ever_ seen, I remember now!

"...its tail..."

A short but swift tail. The turbofox had even chased it and I uploaded the short but significantly funny memory to my HUD.

"...feed.."

I would even feed it! What if it ingested high grade? Several scenarios formed in my processor, triggering a laugh from me.

"...audio receptors.."

Oh _those_ twitching triangle things on its head! It purred when I scratched it last time. How adorable...

"What is it with you?!"

I finally snapped out of my daydreaming of my own pet and got a mad, but _very_ mad Combaticon. I tried to open my mouth and having realized that I had already offlined my vocal processor for a very reasonable reason. I simply ran away. I slipped beneath his open legs and activated my pede wheels to roll off to the hallways.

As I've explained before, I have a _precocious_ mind.

Ever since I was forged, I always had expectations for my frame. It was very, very plain. It had excellent basics thanks to Shocky but it had _absolutely_ nothing of the extraordinary.

Aren't sparklings supposed to have at least the prototype of the equipment that they'll use when they get their full upgrade? Yes they were. That's how Cybertronians gained and (rarely) chose their class! Seeklets have wings (obviously), mindful sparklings extra processor capacities, workers their extra armor, forgelings delicate servos...Soldiers and warrior would even get to be installed with their first battle computers.

Disappointed after the lesson from Vortex, I had decided I deserved to get at least a little gadget to get me helping to go around the ship following Shockwave. So the thing I came up with was wheels for my pedes! When I showed them to my dear boss, he approved of them.

"Saving time and effort. Creative thinking, sparkling." He had nodded, meaning a compliment.

Ha! Of course, this was rare since I seldom attempted such activities but who cares? I got a compliment from **Shockwave!**

_I have a reputation to keep as his assistant, too._

Ever since, I was able to not annoy my dear Combaticons for being late to their classes. It wasn't because I was _late_. It was in the opposite - I was too early. Competition must be a common thing with mechs, because they tried to get earlier than me and to scold me in a triumph manner. They detested of being after a sparkling like me, who's a femme too. So with my pede wheels, I would fool around more and arrive to their lessons a bit later. They still can't beat me but oh well. They're the slow ones.

_I have a pet now!_

I giggled as I swerved my way through the drones carrying loads like always. I began to think of what designation to give to my own, adorable too, turbofox.

* * *

**AN: Posted my work of at 15 months ago. I hope you enjoy my work of regret.**

**-Ray has roller skates, inspiration from Verity from the IDW series and my desire for decent ones.**

**-A bit of AU explanation mixed in.**

**-While the Autobots lacked a bit of number in their ranks compared to the Decepticons, Prime urged people to leave. My Prime is way too sympathetic kinda like TFP's.**

**-Secondary elites being bots like the Coneheads, Stunticons and the DJD (behind the scenes). Pretty prolific characters.**

**-Bots are usually forged into a frame that decide their class like a caste and this depends on the status of the Creator. For some info on Creators, read my other story of _'Prodigy at Service.' _I'll expand this further.**

**-Ray got a pet for not talking for a week! Imagine the reason the Combaticons' eagerness. Ray is a chatty little bot because she's curious and a little sparkling, so they are the ones being a bit exaggerating.**


End file.
